I just don't see Kelly making it in the NFL. He's a great college coach but he's no Pete Carroll, but instead a Nick Saban. His offense could be successful, but he needs to put more emphasis on defense, like the other Kelly does. Until he does, he will never win a National Championship.

ivotuk wrote:I just don't see Kelly making it in the NFL. He's a great college coach but he's no Pete Carroll, but instead a Nick Saban. His offense could be successful, but he needs to put more emphasis on defense, like the other Kelly does. Until he does, he will never win a National Championship.

I don't see why he couldn't be successful. All he has to do is get a decent defensive coordinator and not get in the way.

Thought I would mention Florida beat #4 LSU, #7 South Carolina, and #10 Florida State and only lost 1 game, like you, to the #3 ranked team in the nation (Georgia) and they aren't playing for a National Championship either. I know it sucks. Gator fans can relate.

Oregon didn't beat a top 10 team all season. In fact the best team they faced, #13 Stanford, they lost.

Sorry your coach is leaving. That's never a good feeling. Where do you think he'll end up? Cleveland maybe? I think Arizona might be a good landing spot for him since they have a good defense in place. I honestly thought he was going to Tampa last year. I think it wouldn't have been too bad of a move because they have good D and have some young playmakers and Vincent Jackson. But he needs to get in a situation where he wins pretty early or people will question him I think. That is why I don't know if I'd take the Cleveland job if I were him. The owner seems like a meddler already having fired Holmgren and basically doing the same to Shurmur.

Shurmur will go somewhere and be a good offensive coordinator, that is another thing that should scare Chip away from Cleveland. Shurmur has talent there and is a good offensive coach and didn't get a lot out of those guys. He needs to go somewhere established. I guess probably his best option for established talent is Philly, but they need a good defensive coordinator (or maybe a great one) and the media would be brutal from day 1. It sounds funny, but a situation like Seattle had a couple of years ago would be perfect for Kelly. Low-key, good media, strong fan base, willingness of ownership to let him do his thing. I'm sure if Seattle hadn't gotten Pete they would have kept Mora around and would have gone hard after Chip when the time arose (like say after last season if they were still in the hunt for a coach). I guess San Diego could be like that, but it will require the removal of AJ and give Chip say in personnel like Pete has in Seattle. It will be interesting for sure. I think it would be cool to see what he could/would do with Philip Rivers. I don't think he'd make him run the spread option, but I think he could do some good things, because Rivers is a guy that needs good coaching and can be absolutely dominant.

SharkHawk wrote:Sorry your coach is leaving. That's never a good feeling. Where do you think he'll end up? Cleveland maybe? I think Arizona might be a good landing spot for him since they have a good defense in place. I honestly thought he was going to Tampa last year. I think it wouldn't have been too bad of a move because they have good D and have some young playmakers and Vincent Jackson. But he needs to get in a situation where he wins pretty early or people will question him I think. That is why I don't know if I'd take the Cleveland job if I were him. The owner seems like a meddler already having fired Holmgren and basically doing the same to Shurmur.

Shurmur will go somewhere and be a good offensive coordinator, that is another thing that should scare Chip away from Cleveland. Shurmur has talent there and is a good offensive coach and didn't get a lot out of those guys. He needs to go somewhere established. I guess probably his best option for established talent is Philly, but they need a good defensive coordinator (or maybe a great one) and the media would be brutal from day 1. It sounds funny, but a situation like Seattle had a couple of years ago would be perfect for Kelly. Low-key, good media, strong fan base, willingness of ownership to let him do his thing. I'm sure if Seattle hadn't gotten Pete they would have kept Mora around and would have gone hard after Chip when the time arose (like say after last season if they were still in the hunt for a coach). I guess San Diego could be like that, but it will require the removal of AJ and give Chip say in personnel like Pete has in Seattle. It will be interesting for sure. I think it would be cool to see what he could/would do with Philip Rivers. I don't think he'd make him run the spread option, but I think he could do some good things, because Rivers is a guy that needs good coaching and can be absolutely dominant.

If I had to take a guess I woudl say Philly, but its a total guess. Mortenson and Adam Schefter have both said that Chip is the number 1 target on a lot of teams boards so it really could be anywhere. He's a northeast guy though so I wouldnt be surprised to see him over there.

Maybe the New York Jets. As much as we all hate on Tebow, he might be a good fit for what Chip Kelly would want to run in the NFL.

Dallas is another possibility since I think jerry jones will want a "sexy" hire. But i'm not sure Chip would want to deal with teh bullshit that goes along with that job.

There's also a possibility he comes back to Oregon for one more run with Mariota but I think its probably 85% that he'll be somewhere in the NFL.

Man... for his own sake I hope he doesn't pick Dallas. I hope that job turns into the same thing that the Raiders job turns into. Al Davis offered the job to something like 5 guys before he got anybody to bite a few years ago. He even offered it to Sarkisian before he was anywhere ready to be a head coach. I think Dallas is going to end up in a similar situation where people just don't want to work for Jerry Jones. You're 100% right. He's a control freak and there is too much crap that goes along with it. I was glad to see Jimmy Johnson defend himself and flat out say Jerry lied when he said he was the GM when Jimmy was there and he had final say on personnel. Jimmy said he'd show his contract and where it said straight out that he had 100% final say. It was in his contract and Jones acts like it wasn't and he assembled that team, and then he kind of backs off slightly. Jimmy isn't my favorite guy in the world, but he deserves 100% of the credit for that team, especially after all of the grief he took for replacing Landry. He came in and won and won a lot, and the team has gotten progressively worse since he left.

That should tell you something. I think Chip would be wise to avoid Dallas, and if he is going to be a great success I hope he avoids Arizona! I think he's going to do fine. I think it will be an adjustment, but he doesn't seem like a guy who is so tied to his system that he won't do what it takes to win. It seems more like he uses the system that will help him win and not giving his system all of the credit, but rather being creative enough to find a system that works for his team. I think of it like the Princeton basketball team. They play that total slowdown, but they do it because that is what is best for helping them to win. They can't play the run and gun and win. They have to use a certain tempo. I think any coach with half a brain realizes that tempo is key in the NFL and if one way doesn't work you need to adjust, not the other way around. I think that is what Spurrier just couldn't quite figure out. Petrino couldn't handle the fact that he couldn't manhandle his players without having them smart off right back to him and tell him to shut up. So he didn't even have the guts to face them when he quit. Kelly doesn't strike me as that type of guy.

Good point. Newton is familiar with that offense. He wouldn't have to change up what he does much to fit personnel. He has a couple of good RB's, a good wideout, and a stellar running and throwing QB who has shown he can do it before in Newton.

cesame wrote:Chris Petersen could be a seamless transition for Oregon.

That said, there's a chance the Ducks might just promote Mark Helfrich.

The Ducks are in a good position either way. Love ya Uncle Phil!

Ducks beat writer says its going to be Helfrich, which I think is the right decision. The Ducks have always had a hire from within philosophy from Brooks to Bellotti to Kelly, and I think that trend should be continued for as much continuity as possible. I'd be fine with Petersen but only if he didnt mess with our offensive system.

I think the biggest thing we'd lose with Chip is some of the swagger that he brings, but I think we'll be just fine moving forward as long as we've got the Nike factor and the top level facilities.

My mom went to Oregon. My grandpa went to Oregon State. I think she did it just to make him mad. She hated it though. She ended up transferring. The big family joke is always everybody fighting about who is a duck and who is a beaver. My Grandpa put in a ton of cash for the student athlete center and has some stuff up in his name there in Corvallis. My aunt was a Duck and was always so proud of it. She ended up living in Eugene until she died in her 90's. So my family on my mom's side is always riled up about that whole thing. All I can remember is Oregon REALLY sucked when I was a kid. I mean they were just awful. So for those fans of schools like Wazzu, don't worry... these things tend to work in cycles. The Beavers were just terrible too. In those days it was Washington and UCLA (this was after USC dropped into the toilet due to John Robinson's good coaching and illegal recruiting practices) that pretty much dominated the PAC 10.

The one thing I'll say about the whole conference though is that it has always had enjoyable rivalries. Ducks/Beavers Huskies/Cougars Cardinal/Bears Bruins/Trojans and Devils/Wildcats are all fantastic rivalries. But Utah/Colorado? Come on. Conferences need to stop trying to create rivalries. It reminds me of baseball trying to make the M's rivals with the Padres. What the heck is that all about? The Padres??

I always get a bit bummed out when a good coach leaves the conference, because I think the PAC 12 should be a destination job, like the SEC jobs are. Guys would rather be in the SEC than the NFL. I'd like to see the PAC reach that level again. It just makes the conference play much more enjoyable to watch, even if I don't really have a "team". I grew up watching the Huskies, but have been out of touch with them since I was about 9. It just sort of loses its kick after a while. I thought this season was pretty fun for the conference as a whole though and I wish Directv had carried the PAC TV network. Hopefully Chip is just pushing for a raise and sticks around. I think teams like the program he has built at Oregon help to lift the whole conference and make them all take things seriously and work harder which equals more enjoyable viewing.

Sarlacc83 wrote:If that's the case, I hope Helfrich can do what Kelly couldn't, and that is: Scheme better during the big games. I love Chip and his philosophies, but during big time games, he gets way too damn cute.

Funny, cuz I actually think the opposite is true. I think in those big games he gets too stubborn and just keeps trying the same thing over and over and over even if its not working. If anything I wish he would get more creative and try and be more cute.